LUBBOCK, Texas (Feb. 26, 2022) –
Chaney Martin eclipsed his own school heptathlon record and
Dylan Burrows,
Jelte van Atten and
Owen Pearce all medaled in separate events, boosting Oklahoma Christian to a fifth-place team finish on Saturday in the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The Eagles closed the two-day meet at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center with a flourish, moving a spot up the team standings to fifth with 54 points. West Texas A&M took the team title with 206 points.
Martin, a sophomore from West Plains, Mo., moved up two spots on the final day of the heptathlon to finish fourth with 4,943 points – four points higher than his previous school record, set earlier this season in a meet in Topeka, Kan. He finished third in the pole vault (14 feet, 1¼ inches/4.30 meters) and won the final event, the 1,000 meters, in 2:48.07.
OC's deep cadre of middle-distance and distance runners also showed, with the Eagles producing a medalist in the 800 meters, mile and 3,000 meters. The first was van Atten, a junior from Leiden, Netherlands, who took third in the mile in 4:20.36.
Next up was Burrows, a sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, who took second in the 800 in 1:51.81 to Jared Gilley of Dallas Baptist (Texas), whom Burrows edged in May to win the LSC outdoor 800 title.
Pearce, a sophomore from Kingman, Kan., led during the early laps of the 3,000 and held on for a strong third-place finish with a time of 8:41.49. Pearce and van Atten also were on OC's winning distance medley relay team on Friday night.
OC's sprinters also pulled their weight. Junior
Verrell McBride of Norman, Okla., took fifth in 21.45 seconds, his fastest time of the season and one that met the NCAA Division II provisional standard.
In the meet's final event, the 4x400-meter relay, the Eagles' quartet of
Camden Miller,
Keiontae Williamson, Burrows and
Sam Fisher took fifth among 10 teams in 3:19.70.
Also scoring a team point for the Eagles was sophomore
Alex Samples of Edmond, Okla., who took eighth in the triple jump with a career-best mark of 46 feet, 5¼ inches (14.15 meters).
Most of OC's men's team now will take a break before the start of the outdoor season next month. The Eagles' 2022 outdoor schedule has yet to be announced.
Burrows, Martin and McBride will learn next week if any of them qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, set for March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kan. Burrows ranks 25th in Division II in the 800 while Martin ranks 26th in the heptathlon and McBride 26th in the 200 meters.
RESULTS
